End of the Day

We live most of our hours in the realm of the mundane, between great moments. What are more important, the hours, or the moments?

I'm thinking of this as I am listening to my favorite album, Style Antico's Music for Compline, a set of compositions by 16th-century English composers for the compline, or final church service of the liturgical Christian day.





The Catholic prayer service, called The Divine Hours, or Liturgy of the Hours, was adopted from the Jewish tradition of an ordered daily liturgy. Like the Jewish prayer service, it makes heavy use of the Psalms. In the Catholic tradition, there are three major hours services (middle of the night, sunrise, vespers) and four minor services (mid-morning, noon, mid-afternoon, evening).

The Hours Services promote devotion and mindfulness of God, but are also reminders that mundane hours are sacred, even those when we are so very tired at the end of the day.

In pace, in idipsum dormiam et requiescam.

In peace and into the same I shall sleep and rest.


Good night!